The present invention relates generally to vehicles such as cars, and more particularly, to a system and method for controlling access to a vehicle.
Generally, a system for controlling access to a vehicle includes an access controller and a portable device (e.g., a key fob). The access controller is located inside the vehicle and the portable device is carried by a user. The portable device may be a key fob that is used to unlock the vehicle and enable the vehicle ignition system. The portable device has a stored password. To access the vehicle, the user activates the portable device such as by pushing a button to transmit the password to the access controller. The access controller compares the received password with its own stored password. If the passwords match, then the access controller unlocks the vehicle, allowing a person to access the vehicle.
Oftentimes, public places such as hospitals, hotels and restaurants have dedicated vehicle parking areas, which may be a significant distance from the hotel or hospital, etc. Hence, for convenience, a valet may be employed to park the vehicles. However, for a valet to park the vehicle, the driver must share the portable device with the valet, which not only gives the valet access to the vehicle, but also to systems or devices within the vehicle, such as an in-car communication and entertainment system, air-conditioning system, fuel tank, and storage compartments. It may be desirable that the valet only has limited or partial access to the features of the vehicle. Further, allowing others to have the portable device, even temporarily, leaves the device open to being cloned, and the password copied. Thus, after the portable device is returned to the owner, the clone device could be used to unlock and operate the vehicle.
A known technique to prevent the misuse of the vehicle and systems/devices therein is to have a portable device that has different operating modes. In a first access mode, access is restricted to the owner (or a designated person) only, and in a second access mode, access is shared with another person, e.g., a valet. When the device is in the first access mode, an unshared password is generated, and in the second access mode, a shared password is generated by the device. In the first access mode, the unshared password allows full access to the vehicle, and in the second access mode, the shared password allows limited access to the vehicle, such as to only the driver's door lock and the ignition, but not to the storage compartments, gas tank, or vehicle entertainment systems. The second (valet) mode could also limit vehicle speed and the distance the vehicle can travel. Such limited access ensures safety and prevents misuse of the vehicle and its devices. However, the portable device is still physically shared with another person, e.g., the valet, such that it still is susceptible to being lost or cloned and at least the shared password copied. And since the portable device enables the ignition system regardless of the access mode, a cloned device and shared password can be used to operate the vehicle after returning the portable device to the owner.
A known technique to overcome the problem of sharing the portable device with others is to have more than one portable device, where the portable device includes a second device that allows limited access and that is separable from the first device that provides full access. Then, the owner can share the second device yet maintain control of the first device. However, the second device is still susceptible to being lost or cloned.
Another known vehicle access system avoids the problem of sharing the portable device by having a first portable device that is carried by the owner/driver and a second portable device that is carried by the valet, where the second portable device is a wireless transceiver such as a mobile phone. The first portable device transmits (wirelessly) the shared password to the second portable device, in the second access mode. The valet then uses the second portable device to transmit the shared password to the vehicle access controller to access the vehicle. With such a system, the valet does not have to manage multiple portable devices, so it is easier for the valet to keep track of the means of accessing multiple vehicles. In addition, since the owner maintains control of the first portable device, it is not susceptible to being lost or cloned by another. However, the valet still has access to the vehicle for an indefinite time interval during which the shared password may be copied.
It would be advantageous to have a system and method that controls access to a vehicle for a predetermined time period without sharing a portable device of the owner.